Wildfire
by Ryan Brooklyn
Summary: Villains are heroes, heroes are villains . . . what is the superhero world coming to? That’s the question the Sky High group ask as they make their way through their senior year, doing their best not to get killed . . . or fail their midterms. ON HIATUS
1. The Beginning

**A/N: So this is my third Sky High story. I got the main idea from the movie Zoom (really lame movie, but Kevin Zegers was in it . . . so that was somewhat redeeming, even though his part was severely limited), but a lot of it is mine.**

**Disclaimer: **_All Sky High characters belong to Disney and not to me (unfortunately)._

**Rating: **PG-13

**Genre: **Action/Adventure/Romance/Drama

**Summary: **Villains are heroes, heroes are villains . . . what is the superhero world coming to? That's the question the Sky High group ask as they make their way through their senior year, doing their best not to get killed . . . or fail their midterms.

**Wildfire**

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****Prologue/The Beginning**

"Barry? Barry Battle? Baron Battle you answer me right quick!"

Barry buried his face further into the ground, not wanting to get up from his prone position behind the bushes next to the school. There were two things Barry hated in life: school and gym class. Many would group the two together, but gym class was so horrible he thought it deserved to be mentioned on its own.

It would not have been so bad if he had better self-confidence. His power was actually very "groovy," as his older brother called it. He could produce fire. Nice, but not helpful when one was constantly ridiculed for one's big hair, thick glasses, and chicken legs. And actually Barry might have been able to stand all that _if_ his older brother had not been so perfect.

Warren Battle had it all: good looks, a "radical" power, popularity, the works. It made Barry green with envy many times, but his brother's charisma rubbed off on him as well and he could never hold a grudge against him for long. Warren called it luck; Barry called it good genes . . . and then got playfully teased for being such a "goon".

Warren was two years older than Barry and had been going to Sky High for a while before the shrimpy freshman appeared. Naturally he did what any other brother would do when his younger sibling showed up at his school: he ignored him, acted like Barry did not exist. But Barry tried not to complain much. The last thing he wanted to do was get on Warren's nerves.

So the reason why Barry was burying his face in the ground was because of gym class. Well really it was because of Steven Stronghold, but Barry was too much of a "chump" to risk getting on Stronghold's bad side by blaming him. So gym class it was.

It was Save the Citizen. He and Warren had been the villains, Stronghold and Miller (Johnny Miller had the ability to channel and manipulate electricity), both sophomores, had been the heroes. Of course Barry did not _want_ to see the citizen get hurt, but the fact that Stronghold and Miller had totally creamed both him and Warren within the first twenty seconds of the round, did not exactly give either of their records a shiny gold star. Warren never picked him to be on his team again.

Barry was fine with it though. Outwardly at least. He cheered for his brother and his brother's best friend Ivan Walker, giving them high-fives after they won, and ignoring the glares Stronghold gave him, but all the while he wished he could be good enough for his brother's respect. He did his best, but then he got into a fight with Steven Stronghold.

It was after Save the Citizen, when he and his partner Samantha Peace actually beat Stronghold for the first time in their sophomore year. Samantha had the power of manipulating fire. Together they made an aggressive team. Stronghold and Miller were beaten. Stronghold had not been very happy. Cornering Barry behind the school during lunch, Stronghold had made some very vague threats that, although somewhat lame, made Barry shake in his Day-Glo sneakers.

And that was why Barry was burying his face in the ground behind the bushes. He had tried to be more aggressive but he was still just too timid. And now his lab partner Sam Peace was calling him. Lifting his face off the dirt, he waited a minute to see if she would move on before sitting up and letting his big hair peek over the top of the bushes. Samantha caught sight of him and hurried over, ducking behind the bushes to kneel next to him.

"This is stupid," she told him flatly. "Why are you hiding from Stronghold? You know you could totally take him in a fight, what with your powers."

Barry gave her a withering look. "He's nearly invincible," he reminded her. "My fire barely hurts him."

"Well anyway, you won't get anywhere in life if you hide from all the difficulties. Look at Warren. He gets a lot of opposition from a lot of the upperclassmen and he never backs down."

"Yeah but Warren's perfect." Barry felt he had to remind Samantha of the fact. She simply snorted.

"Hardly," she muttered. "Anyway, if you want, I'll help you. Next time Stronghold bullies you, just make some fire and I'll have it singe his hair or something."

Barry had to crack a small smile. "Thanks Sam," he said.

"No problem." Samantha shrugged and pushed her glasses up her nose. Barry looked at them somewhat enviously. Sam looked good in her glasses, not at all dorky like him. Her hair was big, but she kept it tamed in a single braid down her back. He could not do that unless he wanted to be accused of being a fruitcake. And although she had freckles, they seemed to complete her cute face perfectly.

The bus arrived then and they boarded it, sitting together near the back. "Talk to your brother about it too. I'm sure he has some tips to give you."

"He'll just think I'm a wimp," Barry said, sliding down in his seat and crossing his arms.

"He's your brother, Barry," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "He loves you and I'm sure he wants to help you."

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"You're a real wimp, you know that?" Warren did not even look up from his homework to answer Barry's question. Barry flinched but kept standing at the door, looking in anxiously. Once Warren seemed to realize that his little brother was not going away, he turned and leaned back in his chair.

"But if you really want my help, all I can say is stick up for yourself. You've got a groovy power Barry, _use_ it." He rolled his eyes and folded his hands behind his head. "Get more aggressive. You're better than a mat to be walked on, and you know it. Come on, baby brother, do me proud." With a grin, he stood, ruffled Barry's hair, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Barry stood still for a moment before turning and walking into the bathroom. Looking at his thin face in the mirror, he wrinkled his nose and then pulled his face down into a stormy frown. He looked more impressive when he did, he realized. Touching his big hair, he thought about Stronghold's comments about it and frowned. It was time for a haircut. And maybe a better wardrobe. It was time for a new Baron Battle.

And so the tides began to change, and Barry did indeed make Warren proud. Advancing quickly in his class, Baron became a top student, right up there with Stronghold. He began to beat Stronghold consecutively in Save the Citizen, and grew closer to his partner Samantha Peace. By the end of sophomore year, the two were dating and became inseparable.

Warren continued to wow his teachers and friends and even graduated early, choosing for himself the superhero name Dark Flame. He began saving citizens at the age of seventeen and was one of Maxville's most talented heroes. Barry gloated about him all the time at school, much to Stronghold's chagrin. It was well known in the school that Steven Stronghold had aspirations to be the best superhero the world had ever known. To add insult to injury, Barry won the lead part in the school drama performance of Oklahoma, a part Stronghold had wanted dearly.

Barry graduated at the top of his class at the age of eighteen and he took the name Inferno for his superhero identity. He and Samantha Peace began to make plans for a future marriage even as she began her superhero work under the name Crimson. They each got themselves a sidekick and began their work as superheroes.

Then tragedy struck. Fed up with the rules and regulations of the superhero regime that made him check in constantly with the Bureau, made him go on assignments only when called, gave him an incompetent sidekick (in his opinion), and blamed him for killing ten people trapped in a burning building when his fire accidentally started it, Warren went rogue.

The Bureau had become concerned about his fire power, thinking it too dangerous to even be a superhero power. They discussed the idea of stripping Warren of his superhero status before the fire caused by his power killed more people. The decision affected Barry and Samantha as well. Samantha went in quietly to receive her power-neutralizing cuff that she swore under oath to wear at all times to keep her from hurting any innocent citizens. With the desire to become a good mother and wife, she consented willingly.

Barry, however, did not go so quietly. He did not see his fire power as a threat to anyone. He believed he could still be a hero. So he ran off. Only eighteen, he paired up with his brother and together they continued saving citizens, despite the ban on fire-based superpowers.

The Bureau sent The Commander and Father Time after them. Father Time was an elderly man with the ability to manipulate time and space. The Commander was Steven Stronghold. As soon as Warren learned of the Bureau's plot to capture both him and his little brother and lock them both up, he thought of a way to fight back.

Together the two stormed the Bureau headquarters, setting fire to important offices and frightening the secretaries half to death. It was on the rooftop of the burning Bureau building that Inferno and Dark Flame took their stand against The Commander and Father Time.

"You won't get away with this, Battle," Stronghold cried over the noise of the crackling fire around them. Father Time looked slightly nervous at their surroundings. He was the only one of the four who was not invulnerable to fire.

"The Bureau is corrupt, admit it!" Warren screamed back. "They hold you back and never let you grow out of their perfect little cookie-cutter molds. You're just a puppet, Stronghold. A _puppet_!"

"Your powers are dangerous! They just want to protect the citizens of Maxville!" Stronghold said, stepping forward. He quickly stepped back as a stream of flames shot at him.

"Who's going to protect _you_, Stronghold?" Warren asked in a dangerous voice, his angry eyes glowing red with his fire. He leaped forward and shot a fireball hard into the Commander's chest, knocking the other young man down.

Barry watched what happened next with wide eyes, never to forget the sight. Father Time raised his arms to the sky, muttering something under his breath. A vortex appeared in the sky, and the wind kicked up a notch, sending flames of fire high into the air, filling the atmosphere with smoke and ash.

"You won't be able to hurt anyone anymore," the old man said with a grim look. Barry watched, horrified, as his brother looked up into the vortex, his face twisted with anger . . . and then was gone, sucked through the hole in the universe like a bug into a vacuum cleaner.

The vortex closed and all went still. The fire died down as their manipulator disappeared into the sky. And Barry dropped to his knees, fists against the concrete of the roof, tears running through the soot on his face.

"NOOOOOO!!!" He shouted to the solid blue above him. "NOOOOOO!!!!"

Baron Battle was taken to juvenile court where he served three years detention. When he was released he married Samantha Peace. Together they had a son. Warren. Three years after that, the Commander sent Baron to jail once more, this time for good.

But that was just the beginning, not the end, of the Battle and Peace family's story.

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**So that is the beginning of my Wildfire fanfiction. I hope you all like it. I'm taking a slightly different writing style in this one, as you can see, writing it in the third person. I found it fits better with the story-line I'm going with. So please review and tell me what you think of the prologue! I can't wait to hear ya'll's thoughts. XD**

**Oh, and there's an important poll about Warren on my profile that has to do with one of the characters in this story. It would behoove you to go check it out and vote. ;-)  
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	2. A New Year

**A/N: Soooooo sorry it took so long to update this! My head has been reeling with new ideas for this story and others and it's been really hard trying to concentrate on just one! But anyway, here's the next chapter.**

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****Chapter 1/A New Year**

Warren Peace awoke with a start. He sat up slowly and ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. Looking down, he noticed he had fallen off of the bed in his sleep. He frowned, but then shrugged it off, preferring not to think of his dream. Yawning, he stood and made his way out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Mom?" he grunted, wondering where she was. Figuring she was either in bed or the bathroom, he simply moved to the fridge to get some orange juice. Opening the carton, he tipped his head back and began to drink.

"Um," a soft noise from his right made him freeze.

"Dang, Warren; do you work out?"

Warren whirled around and locked gazes with a smirking Magenta. Standing next to her was Layla, blushing furiously. He scowled at Zach, who had laughed out loud at Magenta's comment.

"What are you doing here?" he asked irritably, catching a sweatshirt that Will tossed to him. He pulled it over his bare chest, glad he was wearing pajama bottoms instead of his boxers.

"Warren, don't you remember? Principal Powers wanted us to be at the school early so we could be the ones to greet the international exchange students." Ethan pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Alex and Akira are already there," Layla offered, keeping her eyes carefully fixed someplace above Warren's shoulder, despite the fact he was no longer half-naked. He rolled his eyes (mentally of course) before turning to Will.

"Remind me again why _I_ need to be there when I've already graduated?" he asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"You helped bring down Royal Pain three years ago, _and_ you're already an amazing hero. I mean, come on, Torch already has two websites dedicated to him." Will grinned encouragingly.

"Of course that _might_ have something to do with that time his clothes burned off before they fixed that glitch in his costume," Magenta said with a barely disguised smirk.

Layla's cheeks grew even redder, while Warren's frown deepened. "Watch it Purple," he growled.

He remembered Principal Power's request now. Although it had only been a few months since he had graduated from Sky High, his popularity with the public had grown rapidly. Of course it did have something to do with the fact that almost all the girls thought he was "hot", and almost all the boys thought his power was "awesome," but in any case he was a good superhero, and the ones that knew that were the ones that counted.

Principal Powers wanted him to be there to greet the new students as an alumni and already well known hero.

"I still have to work today," he reminded the others as he turned to put away the orange juice. He still worked at the Paper Lantern, although now he was assistant manager. He need to show up to check on progress and make sure everything ran smoothly, but if he got a call on his red cell phone, he could be gone without raising suspicion.

"You'll be back before you have to go in, we promise," Ethan said.

"Yeah, dude, besides it's not like they're gonna fire you for being a couple minutes late anyway," Zach pointed out unnecessarily. Warren gave him a pointed look.

"Go out to the car, I'll meet you guys there," he said, turning and leaving the room to jog up the stairs.

The others glanced at each other and Will shrugged. They headed out to Warren's car.

"Dude, how are we even going to all fit in this thing?" Zach asked, rapping the top of Warren's BMW.

"It's specially designed to be bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside," Ethan explained. "They had it made for him when he became Torch."

"The Bureau made him a car?" Magenta asked, skeptical as she ran her fingers over the shiny navy blue hood. "Will we get cars too?"

"I don't know. I think it's different for each hero," Will said carefully.

"Dude, that's not fair. We should like, have all our own cars."

Magenta rolled her eyes. She grabbed a piece of her hair and twirled it absently, moving slightly away from Zach and closer to Layla. If the tall boy noticed, he did not comment on it. Layla reached over and gave Magenta's arm a light squeeze. She knew how tense the girl was nowadays. With her parents recently divorced and still processing things, Magenta's days were rough and mostly full of anxiety.

Zach did his best to encourage her, but his idea of encouragement was cheering her up with lame jokes and hesitant compliments. He really was in over his head, and Magenta knew that. It just made her all the more eager for things to move on.

"Man. I still don't believe Principal Powers let Warren refuse a sidekick," Ethan said, peering inside the windows of the car.

"I think it means a step in the right direction," Layla said with a satisfied smile. "Perhaps Principal Powers has seen the light."

Warren came outside in his normal jeans, shirt, and leather jacket. He shut the door behind him and jogged down the front steps.

"Let's go," he said, fishing his keys out of his pocket and opening the car.

"Where's your costume?" Zach asked curiously as the gang piled into the car. Warren just gave the boy a withering look before backing out of the driveway and driving for the unfinished overpass. The car had been specially designed to fly as well as fit more than five people. Warren smoothly shifted from driver to pilot as they drove off the overpass and into the air.

"What exactly does Principal Powers want us to do with these new students?" Magenta asked, looking out the window.

"Show them around, make sure they make the transition well, and well, help train them." Layla had been the only one, besides Ethan, to really read the pamphlet of information that their principal had given them when they accepted the job of welcome committee to the new exchange students.

"They come from all over the globe. China, Mexico, France, Switzerland . . . it's going to be a learning experience for all of us," Layla said, smiling in anticipation. Other than a thumbs up from Ethan and a smile from Will, her words received no reaction.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence.

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"They're late," Akira said flatly, her arms crossed, a scowl on her delicate looking face.

"Only by a few minutes," the boy standing next to her said. He glanced down at her and grinned slightly at her fierce expression through the fringe of hair that hung over his dark eyes. "Calm down Akira; you're scary when you get angry." He reached over and tenderly tugged on a strand of her black hair.

Akira waved his hand away. "Stop it Alex, this is serious. I don't want to have to go over everything with these students myself." Everyone knew that Akira Nakamura was not one for public speaking.

"They'll be here," said Alex confidently, although he was no public speaker himself and secretly urged the others to get there sooner rather than later.

"Don't look now, but here's the bus now," Akira muttered under her breath as a bright yellow school bus came in for a landing. It landed neatly, obvious the work of a skilled flier. Therefore, it was not one of Sky High's bus drivers.

A group of very diverse students filed out of the bus. Alex had already read the files on each of them so he knew each one's name, nationality, and power.

The first one off the bus was Carlos Mendez, from Mexico. His dark eyes were all over the place, his lips slightly parted as he took in the scenery. His black hair flopped on his forehead as he jogged up the steps to the front doors of the school. His power was telekinesis, which was evident as his backpack floated a couple inches from his side.

Next was Lei Wong, from China. She was tall, lithe, and beautiful. Flipping her long, silky black hair over her shoulder, she made her way up the steps of the school with calm grace. She gave Alex and Akira a tiny smile before taking her place beside Carlos. Her power was power mimicry.

Switzerland's Jessen Holzstein was next, his ice blue eyes striking and direct as they scoped the place from under brooding eyebrows. His hair was completely white and messy, as though he had just gotten out of bed. He practically stalked up the steps and kept his frown even at Lei's smile. His power was phasing.

Alex could hardly keep his eyes off the girl who came off the bus next. Camille Bouchard was from France and was absolutely flawless. Her short brown hair was spiky and her clothes dark and dramatic. She carried herself confidently, yet she wore no makeup, her beauty spoke for itself. Lei Wong's beauty paled in comparison. She carried the gaze of every boy she passed. Akira had to elbow Alex hard in the gut before he remembered his wits and tore his gaze away. Camille's hazel eyes flashed over to Akira and looked amused. Her power was rapid cellular regeneration.

Abbie Shaw, a Brit, was next. She practically skipped off the bus and up the stairs to the group that was gathering; her shoulder-length blonde hair bobbed up and down as she did. Her light green eyes flashed with laughter as she noticed Akira's somewhat annoyed expression. Her power was producing a sonic scream.

Next off the bus was Massimo Ruggiero, from Italy. Alex heard several Sky High girls sigh as he strode up the steps. Dark curls hung around his tan face and his light brown eyes looked intensely over the group. His t-shirt was tight and showed off his swimmers body, which made sense, since his power was the ability to breath underwater.

The last two came off the bus together. The Russian, Anya Grigorovich, and the African, Davu Conde. They were speaking in hushed tones to each other. Anya's light brown hair fell over her face as she leaned toward Davu, her dark eyes hidden. Davu was nodding seriously to whatever it was Anya was saying. The girl had the power of pathfinding; the boy, earthbending.

Soon they were all standing in a group in front of Alex and Akira. Akira nudged Alex sharply. He stepped forward hesitantly.

"Um, I'd like to thank you all for coming . . ." he started, feeling awkward and rather silly. Especially when they said nothing, but simply stared at him.

He shot an anxious look at Akira who shook her head, indicating that she was not going to help him. He scowled at her and then turned back to the group.

"Uh . . ."

At that moment, Warren's BMW landed in the bus parking lot. Alex and Akira breathed a sigh of relief as Will Stronghold and company got out and made their way up the steps.

"Good morning everyone," Layla said with a bright smile. "Welcome to Sky High. If you would follow me, I'll take you in to the gym where you will meet our principal and learn about what you're going to be doing here this year."

The kids glanced at each other and then followed Layla and Will into the school.

"Wow. I never knew Layla could be such a good tour guide," Akira said, smirking.

Magenta snickered.

"We should follow. We don't want to miss anything," Ethan said, nodding to where the last of the kids were entering the school. The group nodded and followed, Warren taking up the rear.

Magenta was studying the new kids. She curled her lip slightly at the drop-dead gorgeous Camille, thinking that was the last thing this high school needed: beautiful, cheerleader-material airheads. One of them, the Swiss, must have felt her eyes on the group, for he turned and glared at her. She scowled back.

While she was scowling, she was not looking where she was going. Suddenly she ran into something. Stepping back, startled, she looked up into a pair of amused blue eyes.

"Daydreaming?" a tall man asked, smirking. He was wearing a janitor's suit and pushing a janitor's cart. He leaned against this now, looking over at Magenta and pushing dark brown hair out of his eyes.

"No," Magenta snapped, embarrassed that she had run into him. Especially when she noticed how good-looking he was. She growled at herself under her breath.

"Well, you should watch where you're going in the future. You could have knocked over all this junk and then we'd have a real mess on our hands."

"Er, right. Sorry! Um, bye!" Magenta hurried away. She heard the man chuckling behind her and her face grew red. She reached the group and made her way to Akira's side.

"Thought you'd acquaint yourself with the new janitor?" Akira asked, smirking.

"Ha, ha," Magenta muttered, her face still red.

"Well I don't blame you. He's hot. If I wasn't already taken . . ." Akira stumbled forward slightly as she was nudged roughly from behind. She glanced over her shoulder at Alex.

"Don't get all jealous, Newton. I was just kidding."

Alex snorted. "Sure you were," he said, but he did not look upset. Magenta noticed the new kids had stopped walking and came to a halt, realizing they were now in the gym.

Principal Powers's comet flew in and she landed on a platform that had been set up in the middle of the gym, just like in power-placement. She looked down at the new students with a warm smile.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Principal Powers. Welcome to Sky High! Before I give you all your class schedules I would like to introduce to you one of our alumni. He graduated with honors and has already become a well known superhero. Please welcome Torch!"

Warren jumped onto the platform, nodding at the group. Will noticed with surprise that he had changed into his costume. The black suit alternated with red and gold as flames were depicted around his wrists, ankles and his chest. The mask was black and covered half his face, flames there as well, shooting up towards his dark eyes.

The new students clapped politely and Will wondered if they recognized that he was one of the kids who had been in Layla's welcoming committee. If any of them did, they did not show it.

"Torch will be assisting in the training of you all," Principal Powers explained. "As you read in the brochures, you will all complete different scenarios, honing your skills and powers until the competition at the end of the school year. At that time, a large scenario will be set up, taking up the entirety of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada." A few murmurings broke out among the students. "You will be split up into villains and heroes, and each team will have a specific objective. I must remind you that while you train you must not mistake this competition as a game. It is dangerous and I'm sorry to say that quite a few students have been seriously injured."

The murmurings ceased and a dead silence filled the room. Principal Powers smiled slightly.

"Keeping that in mind, however, should help you train well so that there will be no need for fear. Training will begin tomorrow during first period and will take up several periods a day. Good luck." She smiled wider and nodded at the group. "Comets away!" she cried, transforming into her comet state and flying away.

There was a moment's pause before the kids began speaking again.

"I for one, think this is a rare opportunity." Magenta heard the Brit, Abbie, say offhandedly to Jessen, the Swiss. "I'll be able to use my powers in a way that will help me learn how to help others."

"Unless you're picked as one of the villains," Jessen pointed out with a scowl. Magenta rolled her eyes.

"I don't see how one like me _could_ be picked as a villain," Abbie said with a bright smile. "My personality doesn't fit the profile." She looked Jessen up and down briefly. "Unlike yours," she added with a small giggle, turning away.

Magenta had to hold back a laugh. If Jessen was a cartoon character, she was sure she would be seeing smoke coming out of his ears. She turned to Layla.

"This'll be interesting," she muttered. Layla quickly shushed her.

"Warren's saying something," she said, nodding to the platform.

Sure enough, Warren had stepped forward and was answering a question put to him by the African kid, Davu.

"I can't say what the objectives will be," he was saying. "All I can tell you is that you'd all better get into shape fast." He glanced around at the group who had fallen silent. "It's not going to be pretty."

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**I had some trouble finding a place to stop, so it ends kind of abruptly, but the next chapter should not take so long to get up. Again sorry for the wait. In the meantime, why don't you review this chapter and tell me what you think? :-D**


	3. Welcoming Committee

**A/N: Warning, this chapter may seem a bit random. It is. I'm still laying down foundation. Don't worry, the good stuff will come soon. :-P**

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****Chapter 2/Welcoming Committee**

"So we have a lot of kids to get to know today," Layla began as she and the group sat around their usual lunch table. "I've made a list and put some of your names next to the ones I think you'll connect best with, from what I've gathered in the short time we've seen them."

She looked up from the list with a bright smile, which dimmed slightly as she realized none of her friends at the table were paying attention. She sighed and lowered the piece of paper that was in her hands.

"Guys, come on," she said pleadingly, looking around the table.

Warren had his head down, reading a comic book, glad to be out of his costume. Will was attempting to build a tower out of empty juice boxes and Zach was helping him. Ethan was doing homework, looking very serious about it. Akira was talking in low tones to Alex, who looked a little annoyed at her obviously scolding tone. Magenta was staring off into the distance, toward where the new janitor was cleaning up a spill in a far corner.

"Guys! Girls! This is important!" Layla insisted, raising her voice. Will looked up and the tower fell over. Some juice was still left and it spilled over Warren's comic, who quickly pulled it away with a growl and bumped his arm into Ethan's arm, causing his pencil to run across his page. He looked up with a frown and slammed his book shut so loud that Magenta jumped, knocking into Alex, who turned to frown at her, making Akira pull back with a sigh of frustration. Layla winced slightly.

"Now that I have your attention," she said slowly, waiting until they all looked at her. "The list I made gives suggestions as to who should go to whom. But if you guys want to change anything, feel free to suggest something. For instance, Abbie seems really perky, so I was thinking I would do her." Layla looked expectantly around the table.

"What's this for again?" Zach asked, scratching his head, looking confused.

"Remember? _The Sky High Register_ wanted to write an article on each of the new students. Principal Powers asked if we could do the interviews since they don't have enough reporters yet."

"Sky High has a newspaper?" Will asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah, it's new," Ethan said. "They just started it last semester. It's still in the working stages, but the first paper was published last week, in front of the library."

"Dude, we have a library?" Zach looked even more surprised.

Layla resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "So do you all have any preferences or what?

"Uh, I've actually got to get back to my day job," Warren said, absently wiping at his comic book.

"And I actually have a class," Ethan said, adjusting his glasses. The rest of the boys murmured their dittos. Only Magenta and Akira did not speak.

"Guys, I thought we agreed with Principal Powers that we wouldn't have class today and instead welcome the exchange students," Layla said, looking slightly deflated.

"Well I'd do anything to get out of school work, so I'm still in," Akira said, and Magenta nodded in agreement although her eyes had drifted back to the janitor, who was now cleaning up a spill at the new student's table. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed him smiling at something Camille Bouchard, the French girl, was saying. Camille shook her spiky head as she laughed, laying a manicured hand on the janitor's arm.

"Skank," Magenta muttered.

"What was that?" Layla asked, startled, looking over at her. Magenta whipped her head around and looked sheepish.

"Nothing, sorry. I'll help with the committee thingy, whatever."

"Thanks girls," Layla said, smiling at them. "I guess it's just us three now."

At those words, the boys stood almost in unison, muttered something about having to go, and disappeared. Akira stood quickly and snagged Alex by the jacket sleeve before he could go far.

"Just stay away from her, okay?" she asked in a low voice, looking up at him and letting a rare expression of vulnerability cross her delicate features.

Alex smiled a rare smile. "Don't worry," he said, taking the hand that held his jacket and giving it a slight squeeze before dropping it quickly and hurrying after the rest of the guys just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch.

"Well, it's up to us to help our guests feel welcome, are you ready?" Layla asked, grinning at the two girls in front of her.

"I guess," Akira said distractedly, shrugging.

"Whatever." Magenta glanced around for the janitor, noticing with slight disappointment that he was no longer in the cafeteria.

"Wonderful," Layla said unenthusiastically, her smile slipping once more. Doing her best to feel positive about this, Layla picked up her clipboard with the assigned questions and list of students and made her way out of the cafeteria, determined to do her job to the best of her ability.

Now it was time to find each student and question them briefly. They had each been given a class schedule and were supposed to sit in during the classes to learn the ropes, but were allowed to roam as well, to familiarize themselves with the system.

They found Lei Wong first, putting her belongings into her new (temporary) locker. She looked up at them with a smile. Layla smiled brightly back, but Magenta just gave a slight chin-up, and Akira narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Can I help you?" Lei asked, her accent rather pleasant, Layla noted.

"Yeah, tell me why they picked you when they've _already_ got an Asian girl here, ready and willing to be of service?" Akira demanded, crossing her arms, her frown deepening into a scowl.

"I'm . . . sorry?" Lei's pretty face looked confused for a moment.

"Um, don't mind her," Layla said quickly. "We're supposed to interview you for our school paper, _The_ _Sky High_ _Register_. Just a couple of questions, nothing too big. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I guess." Lei looked hesitantly at Magenta and Akira, but they looked on without a word.

"Right!" Layla said, breaking the awkward silence quickly before it settled too deep and could not be remedied. "What is your favorite pastime?" She poised her pencil over her clipboard and looked expectantly at the girl.

"Um, well, I like to watch action shows so I can learn the moves."

"Really? So you can fly through the air and stuff? Leap off of tall buildings and land perfectly unharmed on the next one?" Akira raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Um, no I was talking more like karate," Lei said slowly, looking at Akira with confusion, obviously wondering what her problem was.

"Moving on," Layla interjected swiftly. "Your power is the ability to mimic any physical movement of another person, right?" Lei nodded. "How do you see that coming in handy during your training and, eventually, saving mankind? Oh, that should be just people," Layla muttered the last sentence, scratching out a word on her clipboard and inserting a new one. Magenta rolled her eyes.

"Well, I suppose once I've mastered all the forms of karate, I'll be able to defend people and um, help them . . ." Lei trailed off.

"What's your IQ level?" Akira asked suddenly. Lei looked startled.

"I don't, um . . ."

"Akira, that's enough," Layla said, looking reproachfully at the other girl.

"Okay, last question: what's your family like?"

"My mother is very proud of me; and my father . . . he works a lot so he does not get to see me very much, but he says he's proud of me too. They're both proud that I can be here." Lei smiled faintly.

"Thank you," Layla said. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay here at Sky High."

"Thank you," Lei said.

Magenta and Akira followed Layla down the hall. Akira twirled a strand of her hair absently.

"She's not very smart, that's good," she muttered. Magenta glanced over quizzically.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just, you know, she's really pretty and stuff. Alex was watching her earlier. Well, and that French girl. I bet _she's_ really smart. Perfect cheerleader type as well as smart. Ugh." Akira rambled.

Magenta stifled a laugh. "Boyfriend troubles? Seriously? It took you half a year to get Alex to trust you enough to let you in to his private circle and now you're doubting him? Trust me, Akira, that kid's been through hell, sure. But if there's one thing I know about Alex, it's that he's extremely loyal to those close to him."

Akira glanced sidelong at Magenta. "You're one to talk, Miss Make-Eyes-at-the-New-Janitor-Even-Though-I-Already-Have-a-Boyfriend."

Magenta scowled, her face closing down immediately. She clenched her jaw and faced forward. "Fine. I'll keep my opinions to myself then."

Akira felt slightly bad about her words then, but before she could think about apologizing, they ran into Anya Grigorovich and Davu Conde, walking hand in hand down the hallway. Layla stepped in front of them with a smile, pretending she had not heard a word of what Magenta and Akira had been saying.

"Hi," Layla said with a bright smile. "We're interviewing the new students for our newspaper, do you mind if I ask you both a few questions?"

Davu and Anya glanced at each other and then turned back to the girls. "Sure, shoot," Davu said, shrugging.

Layla turned to Magenta. "You want to do this one, Maj?" she asked, holding the clipboard out to the other girl.

"Whatever," Magenta said, taking the clipboard. She scanned the questions for a moment before looking up at the two. "What is your favorite pastime?" she asked in a monotone.

"Reading," Anya said automatically, smiling faintly.

"I like to play around in my backyard with my little brothers," Davu said, looking slightly bashful.

"Fun," Akira said, smirking faintly. Layla nudged her subtly. Akira frowned in response.

"How do you see your power coming in handy during your training and, eventually, saving mankind?" Magenta asked, as emotionless as before.

"Well, seeing as my power is pathfinding, meaning I can find anyone in the world with just their name, I hope to be able to help by finding villains and helping bring them to justice," Anya said, her accent lilting her voice rather musically.

"I'd like to build houses for people in Africa with my power of earthbending," Davu said, his accent more guttural and deep.

"Nice," Akira said appreciatively. "Now that's something I agree with." Layla gave her a look, but refrained from saying anything, since Akira had not necessarily been rude.

"What is your family like?" Magenta asked, relieved they were at the last question.

"Well, I have two younger brothers and an older sister, as well as my mother and father," Anya said, smiling fondly. "They are all very proud of me and hope that I will be able to live up to their expectations."

"And I have my three younger brothers, and my mother," Davu said, with a fond smile of his own. "And of course they are proud of me too." He glanced at Anya and grinned, clasping her hand tighter.

"So how did you two get together if you're from Russia and he's from Africa?" Akira asked curiously. Layla took the clipboard back from Magenta and glanced sidelong at the two exchange students.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she said quickly.

"No, it's okay," Davu said. "We met on a different exchange student event and hit off immediately."

"We exchanged email addresses and when we found out we would both be coming here, we decided to deepen our relationship." Anya said, looking at Davu.

"O-_kay_! Now the googly-eyes are coming out, let's go," Akira said, grabbing Magenta and Layla and hurrying them down the hall.

Turning a corner, they ran into their next student. Jessen Holzstein stepped back quickly, a scowl planting itself on his face.

"Watch where you're going," he said, straightening his shirt. Layla blushed automatically.

"I'm so sorry," she said swiftly, pulling back Magenta and Akira. "But I'm glad we found you. We have some questions—"

"For your little school newspaper, right? No comment." Jessen moved to the side to step around them.

"Not so fast, hot-stuff," Akira said, grabbing his arm before he could get away. "We've got questions and you're going to answer them."

Jessen just glared at her, before phasing his arm out of her grip. "No, thank you," he said, annunciating each word slowly, as if he was talking to young children.

"Please, it's just three questions," Layla asked, holding the clipboard to her chest and looking at him earnestly. The fair-headed teen stared at her for a moment, before his face smoothed out slightly.

"Fine, make it quick," he muttered, crossing his arms and rocking back on his heels, looking at her from beneath tuffs of white hair that fell forward over his eyes.

"Right, um, what's your favorite pastime?" Layla asked, lowering the clipboard and looking down at it.

"Collecting stamps," Jessen said, flatly. Akira snorted.

"Pfffft. Yeah right," she said, rolling her eyes. Magenta snickered. Jessen just glanced at them impassively.

"Okay, moving on," Layla said, giving the girls a Look. "How do you see your power coming in handy during your training and, eventually, saving mankind?" She looked up hesitantly, biting her lip lightly. She was getting an idea that Jessen was mocking her.

"I don't know, greenie, you tell me," Jessen said, a faint smirk playing over his lips.

Layla hesitated, glancing at Akira and Magenta, wondering if she should go on. Akira rolled her eyes, Magenta shrugged. A flash of gray caught her eye. Thinking it was the janitor, she turned quickly. Unfortunately, whoever it was was gone.

"Um, last question: what is your family like?" Layla asked, shifting on her feet, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

At the question, Jessen's face shut down. His smirk disappeared and something dark flashed in his light blue eyes, turning them once more to ice. "No comment," he half-growled. "Now if you ladies will excuse me . . ."

He pushed past them roughly and stalked down the hallway, leaving Layla gaping after him.

"I don't think he appreciated those questions very much," Akira stated the obvious.

"He's been hurt," Layla said, looking thoughtful.

"You can tell that after three questions?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was the way he reacted to them," Layla said, turning to her. "I saw it in Lash, and Alex, and now in him. Something's hurting him."

"And don't tell me, you want to help, right?" Akira asked, rolling her eyes.

"_Someone_ has to reach out to him!" Layla said earnestly. "Otherwise no one will. He'll alienate himself from everyone!"

"Maybe that's how he _wants_ it. Look Layla, I know it's your 'thing' to want to help people, and who knows? Maybe deep down in that kid is a warm fuzzy heart, but I don't think you're going to break through that rock hard shell of his by the end of the school year. I've seen his type all over the place in Royal Pain's Academy. Hot and brooding and you think you can change them, but they've spent years building up their defenses and a sweet little girl like you isn't going to make a dent." Akira shrugged. "Sorry."

Layla bit her lip gently. "I . . . thanks, I guess," she said after a moment of hesitation. "You're probably right. Besides, I'm so busy already organizing this committee and everything . . . I probably shouldn't try to do my . . . 'thing' as you call it." She smiled faintly.

Just then she noticed something. "Where's Magenta?" she asked suddenly, glancing around.

Akira rolled her eyes. "I bet she spotted that hot janitor and went over to flirt or something. We should keep going; she'll catch up."

Layla looked uncertain, but Akira just rolled her eyes and grabbed her wrist, dragging her down the hallway in search of the other exchange students.

* * *

**That's the chapter! Review and tell me what you think! :-D**


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